Sandwich braces for plant closure

SANDWICH — The knee-jerk reaction might be good riddance to the green monster on the banks of the Cape Cod Canal, but local taxpayers would pay a price.

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By GEORGE BRENNAN

capecodtimes.com

By GEORGE BRENNAN

Posted Jan. 23, 2009 at 2:00 AM

By GEORGE BRENNAN

Posted Jan. 23, 2009 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

SANDWICH — The knee-jerk reaction might be good riddance to the green monster on the banks of the Cape Cod Canal.

But if the Mirant Canal Generating Plant were shuttered as is suggested in a report by Independent System Operator New England, Sandwich property owners, who already pay the second-highest tax bills on Cape Cod at about $4,179, could expect to pay an additional $150 to $200 per year, assessor Edward Childs said yesterday. That estimate is based on the average home, which is valued at $406,900.

The plant pays the town about $2.4 million in taxes annually. If the facility were to close, the town would lose about $2 million in tax revenue and that burden would be spread among the town's other taxpayers, according to Childs.

In effect, losing the plant's tax revenue would be like approving a Proposition 2½ override without getting the benefit of increased town services, Selectman Randy Hunt said last night.

"If it didn't have such a financial impact, I wouldn't miss the plant," Selectman Frank Pannorfi said, noting that the facility generates at least 5 percent of the town's total property tax revenues. "People don't understand that this is going to add to their tax bill if it goes away."

There is some frustration among selectmen with state officials, specifically state Rep. Matthew Patrick, D-Falmouth, who are promoting the benefits of closing the plant.

"His public discourse might be different if it was his constituents who would bear the economic impact," Linell Grundman, the board of selectmen's chairwoman, said in a telephone interview yesterday.

Last night, the board had minimal discussion about the issue, but the selectmen promised to put it on the agenda next week.

Pannorfi said the potential closure of the plant is an issue the board needs to discuss in more detail at a future meeting.

Grundman, who could not attend last night's meeting for personal reasons, said earlier in the day she would like to see a solution found that takes into account the town's financial stake and the environmental concerns.

ISO New England officials say the plant's electricity is too costly and generates too much pollution. A third electricity transmission line across the Cape Cod Canal would make continued operation of the plant unnecessary, according to the recent ISO report.

"The stark reality is that the canal plant simply cannot operate profitably in competition with more efficient modern power plants," Charles Kleekamp, vice president of Clean Power Now and a member of the town's energy committee, told selectmen last night.

Kleekamp said the ISO report could force Mirant to either generate electricity more efficiently or sell the plant to a company that is willing to make the changes.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency held a hearing last week on draft conditions that would require the plant to construct cooling towers or alternative technology to comply with the federal Clean Water Act. The estimated cost of the towers is $182 million to $217 million.

"What happens to the plant if it gets shut down?" Pannorfi asked. "Are we going to have this rusting hulk there? Is Mirant going to be forced to take it down? Is the federal government going to pay to take it down?"

At a time when the economy is lagging and cuts are being threatened to local aid, losing the plant's tax revenue would be a severe blow to the town's $63 million operating budget, Sandwich officials said.

Residential taxpayers make up more than 90 percent of the town's taxpayers even with the Mirant plant operating, officials said.

Revenue from any business that would replace the plant on the property would pale by comparison, according to the selectmen.

"It could be the death knell for the town financially," vice chairman John Kennan said.